


you read me like a book

by manchestereye (orphan_account)



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: 2nd Person, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gay Dan Howell, Gay Phil Lester, Goodnight, M/M, Student Dan Howell, Student Phil Lester, Writer's Block, it took me four hours to write this shit one shot i'm losing my prime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 13:55:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20228950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/manchestereye
Summary: dan finds phil's missing notebook in the library





	you read me like a book

**Author's Note:**

  * For [icosmics](https://archiveofourown.org/users/icosmics/gifts).

> i took a different approach to writing this lmao. despite being in 2nd pov, this is not a reader insert. you are in fact dan howell in this story
> 
> prompt [here](https://dailyau.tumblr.com/post/186841170724/you-left-your-notebook-in-the-library-and-it)
> 
> icosmics ily
> 
> title: my sweetness by palaye royale

english isn’t really your best subject. it’s not as bad as maths, but with english you could never know whether or not you have the right answer because everyone interprets the story differently. the only thing you find useful is reading comprehension, not any of this other jargon about the deeper meaning. regardless, you have to take that class as a prerequisite to everything, and you just have to hope for the best.

you’re cramming for an exam on a thursday evening at the school library when you notice a notebook on the other side of the large desk. there was no one else at the table when you got there, so you want to be a good citizen and return the notebook back to whoever left it there. totally not a perfect excuse for you to just procrastinate studying for your english final.

you look inside the cover to see if there’s a name, or a phone number, that could help you identify whoever this belongs to. there’s no name, but there is a phone number in the back of said notebook. 

as you put the notebook down to call the number about finding their missing notebook, you see a piece of paper sticking out of it. it’s a flashcard for a vocabulary word. more specifically, it’s a word that dan recognizes because it’s going to be on the vocab section of the exam.

your parents have told you that it’s wrong to snoop and read someone’s personal information, but you can’t help looking through the notebook, because it might have stuff that could save your ass for finals next week. and it does. it has all of the coursework and notes for the semester.

see, you had notes prepared for finals, but one of your roommates is a jerk who doesn’t want to do their own work despite being a college freshman, so they stole them. you don’t count on getting them back, which is why you’re here in the library cramming for it in the first place, especially since you still don’t have a full grasp on the concepts. whatever, it doesn’t matter, because those notes were hard to decipher in the first place. you have really awful handwriting whenever you write really fast during lecture.

you’re very tempted to steal the notebook until after finals, even though it’s a really bad idea, because you could be sabotaging someone else’s grade. you take the notebook anyway, because you’re horrible and selfish, and you don’t want to have to repeat basic english next semester. 

when you get back to the dorm, your notice that none of your roommates are home, which means that you have the peace and quiet to study for a little bit. it’s always loud whenever pj and chris are in the room, especially at the same time.

studying lasts for a total of thirty minutes before you give up, feeling really guilty about taking the notebook. instead of calling the owner, you decide to text them. you’re not a social person in the slightest, but you decide to take your chances and ask them to study with you, since those notes are your lifeline right now. 

_ hey so i saw your notebook in the library and that it has notes for my class in it, would you hopefully wanna study with me? _

pj and chris come home with dinner, so you don’t get to see if the person had replied back until right before you go to bed. 

_ sure! tomorrow, dorm’s lounge, noon? _

you text back a thumbs up emoji, not really wanting to say anything else right now. 

-

you wake up the next morning to pj and chris screaming over breakfast. it’s 9 am, so you might as well get up before you oversleep and miss your meeting with the owner of the notebook. you still don’t know their name.

sometimes you wonder if pj and chris will stop bickering and just get together already, but you know that they’re too stubborn to admit anything. you’ve been on the receiving end of both chris and pj’s pining towards each other multiple times. 

you shake your head at that thought though, because you have other things to worry about today.

when you walk into the lounge at exactly noon, holding the notebook, you text the other person to tell them you’re there.

to your surprise, it’s your friend phil lester, who sits right next to you during lecture.

“hey! dan! thank you so much for finding the notebook! you’re a lifesaver.” phil says. he hugs dan too, because phil is a warm and happy person that hugs all of his friends.

that just makes you feel even more guilty for temporarily stealing said notebook.

needless to say, studying with phil goes well, and you feel confident that you’re gonna do well on monday’s exam. 

“do you wanna get lunch together?” phil asks him.

you smile and nod. to be quite honest, you’ve always found phil attractive and cute, especially now that he’s ditched the 2005 emo haircut.

you hope that the two of you will hang out again sometime, because lunch was fun and you find that you and phil have a lot more in common than you originally thought. 

when you get your grades back the day after the exam, you text phil about them. he tells you that he’s proud of you, and hints at going on a dinner date to celebrate.

_ i got a b on the exam surprisingly, thanks for teaching me in ways i can understand lmao _

_ you’re welcome! next time, you should probably ask for help way before finals start. but in the meantime, let’s grab dinner tonight. i know this really cool place a few minutes away from campus. _

and you’d be a damn fool not to accept that invitation.

_ of course. see you later. xx _

**Author's Note:**

> thank you, please send me writing prompts in my ask box so that i'm not suffering
> 
> tumblr: fearoftryinq


End file.
